Democracy and liberty
Our system of government is in crisis. It has lost the confidence of most people, many of whom no longer vote. Spin and sleaze dominate national politics.
Decisions are taken in secret and far away from the communities most affected. Archaic elements like Monarchy and the House of Lords remain. We have an unfair electoral system and almost alone in the world we have no written constitution. Power and influence have been taken from cash-starved local councils. It is hardly surprising that this system cannot face up to the long term decisions needed to create a sustainable and just society.
The Green Party wants to fundamentally change the way this system works - to modernise and decentralise it, and make it fairer, more open and more accountable. Decisions must be taken at the most appropriate level to ensure proper accountability to those people affected by them. This means more local and regional decision-making and greater public participation at all levels.
- The constitutional functions of the monarchy should be abolished and the House of Lords should be replaced by a wholly elected second chamber.
- A new written constitution should be devised defining the rights and responsibilities of citizens.
- Elections should be by a system of proportional representation. The voting age should be reduced to 16 years.
- A ‘recall' system needs introducing - where politicians must step down to face re-election if petitioned to do so by a significant proportion of electors.
We recognise the importance of addressing issues of common concern at the European and international levels, but not through a European super-state or inappropriate global bodies like the World trade Organisation (WTO) which undermine local democracy and global justice. Each function of government has an appropriate level, and defence would remain a national responsibility.
For democracy to work properly people must be able to play an active part and hold their elected representatives to account. But as well as real democracy we need policies for social and economic justice and protection of the planet.
More detail
Democracy and Liberty sections of full policy document
